Episode 31: A forgotten history
"There are spectres everywhere. And they're all from the Pokémon that fell during the recent battle," Ida huffed from fatigue. She had to fight her way back through the city to meet the others outside the temple, where the absence of the spectres gave her a respite. "What's going on? What did all of you do?"
"I apologise," Ariala said.
"Why are you apologising? This isn't your fault. We need to do something," Rune replied. Ariala didn't move.
"No. Please, allow me to explain. It's a long story," she insisted, and directed everyone back into the temple. Everyone exchanged glances and followed.
"Does this have something to do with Charle? He ran away from me during that last fight, and I haven't seen him since. He's been acting so weird since he came back," Ida put a paw to her chin.
"It might. But this roots back to when I first met Rune. That was twenty-six years ago, back on Eris," Ariala began. Leos shuddered but paid attention, not expecting to hear about something from so long ago. "As many of you may know, I was kidnapped by King Jyararanga. Many thought it to be a strange act of war, but it actually wasn't. It was Tapu Koko's doing."
"Tapu Koko?" Rune repeated. Ariala opened her eyes and kept walking, but she was slow.
"He conferred with the king at some point, and I was delivered. They said they needed my body and my powers. But I was just a child, so I was frightened and didn't understand anything. That was until that monster showed up: that shadow. Those dark powers you saw me expel when I tried to fight Master Lin," she explained. She stretched an arm out, but no power came. "King Jyararanga sealed a shadow partition within me. He said it gave me powers, but that I wasn't to use those powers unless I absolutely needed to. It was the partition of a greater Pokémon, one that possessed god-like powers. Even with just a fraction of it sealed within me, it had some control over my actions and sometimes came out beyond my will. I did training to supress it and learn to use it, but it was never fully under my control. Only now do I fully understand that."
"Those powers that Diantha had. Why didn't Father ever tell me?" Rune sighed and shook his head.
"Yes. You and Diantha's obstruction to the sealing caused her to take some of the power as well. From there on, the Tapu had planned to destroy any remaining hint of it. They knew they couldn't afford to let any of the partitions get out. So when Diantha released her powers during that battle, sixteen years ago…" she continued, and then turned to Rune.
"It attracted Tapu Koko, and he destroyed the source of the partition," Rune finished her sentence, and she nodded.
"I never knew why, though. I never fully understood. I thought it a curse they merely deemed too powerful for Pokémon to use. But to think they would kill the princess – it was the first time my faith in the Tapu wavered. I had to test their reason, and provoked them myself. But when I released the power in the same way as Diantha, no one came. Thus, me and you were left to quickly plan our method of stalling the war."
"Yeah," Rune sighed. Leos' eyes widened. "This might be the only chance I get to apologise for being your missing Father for all this time. But I simply had to. You were too important to the world, and us. We agreed to 'go missing' from the world, so that we could stall our planets from attacking one another while you grew up. Our parents knew of our activities and absence, but the opposing planet did not, leading to our planets' own falsified crisis. Our armies were pretending to search for their prince and princess, so there was no time to attack one another."
"Why couldn't you at least live with me still?" Leos questioned.
"I declared I would get my revenge for my sister. But first I had to understand why it all happened," Rune folded his arms. "I kept in contact with Ariala through letters, but I was too busy sneaking around Faernia to ever see her. In time, I formed a group I called 'The Deliverance', who would work towards freeing the Pokémon from the Tapus' increasingly questionable actions."
"The Deliverance?" Leos spun around. He spotted the Togedemaru, Sylveon, and Greninja in the group, who waved at him.
"Yeah, sorry we couldn't tell ya earlier, kid. Needed to keep our activities as underground as possible," Shota snickered. "But as smart as you are, I'm surprised you never once thought about how I suddenly showed up one day, knowin' so much about ya."
"When I found out you'd snuck out to the Stardust Treasury, I was overcome with guilt and worry. I knew what I had said wouldn't keep you from what you were doing. I had to get these guys to protect you," Rune explained, and then started thinking aloud. "Thinking back then, it's clear now why Tapu Lele stole Diantha's body. Master Lin's plan to gather those shadow partitions was in motion."
"He was also the one in charge of investigating the Tapu's strange behaviour. He was the only other religious figure that they could rely on to do so," Ariala added, now addressing everyone. "What I'm saying now is that our world faces its greatest of dangers: Marshadow. We must destroy it in its current form and prevent it from encountering its last partition. Master Lin had attempted to steal the Shadow Partition from me before, but he couldn't drain it from me unless I wasn't holding the power back, keeping it sealed within me. But just now, he forced me to use it… If it wasn't for me acting so slowly, for daring to keep faith in the Tapu after they had done such unforgivable things, we might have been able to avoid even half of our losses."
"Don't beat yourself up over it. You had to do some very difficult things. And you saved Leos when I couldn't," Rune replied.
"It's just like Lin to go after some godly power. First it was harnessing the power of the hybrid hero, now it's the god of the stars," Vincent commented, tapping his foot.
"But where are we gonna find the last partition?" Nier wondered. "One was in Ariala, one was in Diantha, and the third one he had himself."
"You've figured it out, haven't you, Rune?" Ariala said expectantly. The duo nodded at each other.
"Leos, you've read my diary, so I'm sure you know him. Mirror, the Absol responsible for provoking Diantha to release those powers in the first place," Rune said. "If we find him, we have the last partition."
"There is just one thing about this that I don't understand," Ariala added. "Lin tortured me to get me to release the power so that he could drain it from me. We can assume that he can only drain the shadow partition when it is leaking from the Pokémon that has it. But he drained it from Diantha now, a dead Pokémon."
Rune walked over to Diantha's body and inspected it. It was cold, wet, and stiff, yet retained a healthy appearance. You couldn't tell that she was dead until you felt her heart. "Maybe it's just easier to get from a dead Pokémon? If the partitions can affect the Pokémon they're sealed in, then it's clear what drives Mirror to do what he does."
"But then why not just kill me, then? Why not kill all of us? He had us right where he wanted, yet resorted to torture. Tapu Lele even allowed it to happen," Ariala pointed out. Rune stood up and spun around, unable to come out with a response. "What possible ulterior motive could he have to keep us alive?"
Vincent raised a hand and stepped forward. "I understand your concern, but it's no use worrying about something like that. All we understand is that he wants to bring Marshadow to life, and the Tapu were keeping that sealed for all this time. We should focus on stopping him at all costs. And this time, you'll kill him. Erase him from this world for good."
"That's not how we do things, Vincent," Ariala objected. She went quiet when she noticed his fury and faced him properly. "I know your history with him is deep. But please, we mustn't be rash. He can only be tried for his actions as of his time in the Tower of the Tapu."
"This monster literally almost killed you. He is partly to blame for all those spectres outside – how can you possibly say that?" Leos cried.
"Leos, the Tapu taught us—"
"Forget what the Tapu taught us; they're not our dictators anymore!" he raised his voice. Silence fell, and the Clefable stood down, gripping at her chest and belly.
"We'll execute him on sight. But first, finding Mirror. He told me this: 'when the time comes to search for the final Shadow Partition, find me in the temple of the shadow's first descent. There, we will decide this world's fate'. So Father, where did the shadow partition first descend?" Leos asked.
"Leos," Rune whispered. The look of determination on his son's face made him settle his thoughts, and he folded his arms.
"Castle Eris. The temple at the top, where they keep the Dragon Weapon," a girly voice spoke up before him. The royals turned to their army in surprise, finding them all to be just as clueless as to who spoke. "Over here, you big dummy."
"What?" Rune choked and flinched so hard that he almost fell back. Leos and Ariala were no better, their jaws on the floor at the sight of Diantha standing, talking, in full motion. Her eyes had pupils again, but they were a bright yellow. She didn't look as stiff as she did earlier, and gave them a cheerful wave.
"Surprised to see me? I woke up at the perfect time!" she said. Rune drew his sword and pointed it at her. "Whoa whoa whoa, the heck gives?"
"What kind of witchery is this? Don't play me for a fool!" Rune hissed.
"I'm not I'm not!" she cried, flailing her arms. "Well uh, I guess it's sorta tough to convince ya. I've only been M.I.A for sixteen years."
Everyone stared. Rune's face only tightened, and he pushed his sword a little closer.
"Okay okay, I get it! So like, that Marshadow guy is why Pokémon can make spectres and all that, right? He makes 'em outta dead Pokémon. So now that he's strong enough, he's able to bring 'em back with their bodies, too. So that means I'm a spectre, but I get to walk around in my body and all that?" she explained. Rune loosened and lowered his sword to his side. "I-I mean it. I dunno any other way to convince you, but it's me, sis. And I don't need many intros, 'cos I know that you're big bro. You've got his sword."
He hesitantly approached her, and she stood perfectly still and stared back. She lacked her skirt and her head fur wasn't tied into a ponytail like it used to be, but he could tell that both bothered her. She kept swiping fur out of her face to throw it to the back of her head, while her other paw rubbed at her thigh, as if the skirt not being there created worries.
Then his feelings all came rushing in at once. Her voice and tone were nostalgic, and the way she stared at him with hopeful, spoilt eyes, just waiting for him to give in to her petty wants. He dropped his sword and knelt down to her, blinked several times, and then hugged her tightly.
"U-uh, erm, big bro? P-Pokémon are watching," she squeaked and tensed up. He could tell that she was still dead as she was still cold, but the response warmed him all the same. He didn't need to see her face to know that she was blushing, so he only tightened his grip, trying to convey how he felt without saying it. He wanted to cry, but he forced himself not to. She eventually got this and hugged back, patting him on the back.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you," he said with a tremble and a sniffle.
"And I'm sorry I was a total ass," she replied in similar vein.
"I hate to interrupt the meaningful fluff, but two things. She's still a dead body, and is only temporarily here. Two, we really need to get going if we're going all the way to Eris. The more time we waste, the more time those spectres spend wreaking havoc," Ida said.
"Make time. This is important," Rune replied, and broke away.
"N-no, she's right. I know me being back means we can party and all, but we can make time for that later. For now, we've gotta get to that temple and protect Mirror. I don't exactly have cool powers or anythin', but I'm pretty good with special attacks, so let me at 'em this time," Diantha agreed.
"And risk you getting hurt again? I couldn't bear the sight, not after—" Rune objected.
"Big bro," Diantha sung teasingly.
He sighed. "Just don't do anything stupid. You don't have those powers anymore."
"I know I know! But I can still do cool stuff like Trump Card, remember?" she put her paws on her hips.
"We'll have to make our way to the castle. I'm sure there's an airship there," Ariala mumbled.
"We can use the Entercards to warp straight to Eris, actually. I figured out how to use these, but I can only go where I've been before," Leos said, searching his belongings.
"Entercards?" Ariala replied, tilting her head.
"Just follow my lead," he said.
…
Their objective turned out to be as gruesome as the battle they had just endured. Leos had managed to calm himself down after being frightened by the war, but being thrown back into those conditions only put him right back to square one.
The party emerged from the Magnagate right at the foot of Castle Eris, where spectres – the ghostly figures and animated dead bodies alike – were deep in combat with the ruthless soldiers of Eris. Being dead bodies in motion, the gory offence against them didn't put them out of action. Arms and legs were being cut off by swords and rampaging dragons, chests and heads pierced by claws and swords, and many Pokémon were even getting beheaded. The spectres would keep fighting anyway, unhindered by their missing body parts. The only difference was that they were silent. It all still turned Leos' face pale, and he hid behind his friends as they escorted him through the chaos.
Thankfully, he was able to quickly tear himself away from it since they were right by the castle's entrance. The castle itself had gone into a defensive mode, so many guards were well positioned and the hallways weren't busy. None of the spectres had infiltrated yet, so it was a simple task of turning his back on the battle, finding and explaining the situation to Jyararanga, and then making their way to the temple at the top of the castle.
Everything will be so much worse if you don't stop this now. So just focus – it's time for action, Leos kept telling himself that as he and his army quickly paced up the castle. When they reached the very top, silence took over. There was no one around in the area.
"It's just as I remember it. No one here, and just the barrier. It's like it's disconnected from the rest of the castle," Rune said. The barrier at the end of the hallway had been renewed, but it was just as basic. A few planks of wood that could be jumped or climbed over. In Rune's case, he drew his Razor Shells and smashed it to pieces with little effort.
"Did you have to?" Jyararanga commented.
"Saves time," he said, and led the way.
Leos and Ariala followed behind them, the former nervous again even with his inner chanting. He felt that 'disconnection' from the world once the aged, ruined temple came into sight, along with the scenery faded by distance. There weren't even any insects or Pidgey here, just the ruined temple, the large green hexagon, and of course, Mirror. The Absol was at the far end of the temple staring at its weathered murals.
"So you came," Mirror began without around.
"You invited me. You foresaw all this, didn't you? Absol can do that, after all," Leos said, walking ahead towards him. He stopped when Mirror swiped his front paws aside to summon three spectres in front of him. They were all Kingler. "Wait what? What're you doing?"
"The only thing that is to be done, now. To see whether you have what it takes. After all, you're only about to deal with the most powerful being in existence." Mirror finally turned around.
"Listen. I hate you more than anyone else in the world. Just the sight of you makes me want to kill you a thousand times over, right here and now," Rune stated, and drew the Sword of Earthly Elements. It was glowing.
"Rune," Ariala muttered.
"But what's at stake here is more important than my personal agenda. It's the same for all of us. So we're here now to take you someplace safer, and protect you. There's no need for us to fight right now," he said.
"And what will you do when I am in this safe place?" Mirror asked.
"Destroy Marshadow's incomplete form. Ensuring he can't get to you is the priority now," he answered. There was a pause.
"You are as pitiful as ever, Prince," Mirror sighed. "Even after everything I did to you, you never once learnt what it really takes to protect someone."
"The hell do you know you psychopathic murderer?" Rune shouted.
"Rune, please," Ariala stopped him, and came forward. He allowed her to approach. "Please, our planets face a dire situation right now and there is little time to lose. We must put our differences aside and cooperate for the time being."
There was another pause, but Mirror never moved at all. "Tell me, princess. What drives your desire to protect? What need have you to prevent Marshadow's birth?"
"As crown princess of Faernia, and the mother of Leos, our world's unifying person, it is my duty to protect our world from every crisis. The birth of Marshadow and the Pokémon involved threaten Etheria's already delicate peace," she answered.
"Why should she even have to answer to you? Look we're just here to protect you. Cooperate with us or else," Leos said.
"None of you have learnt a thing," Mirror grumbled. He slammed a paw on his mask. Everyone flinched and readied themselves for the worst, but when he removed the mask from his face, his spectres vanished.
"Have they become invisible?" Rune guarded himself.
But nothing came. Mirror crushed the mask in his paw, stumbled a bit, and then trashed it aside. It clanged against the stone wall in the only standing corner of the room, maintaining an odd feature even though it had been crushed. The single eye visible through the mask turned out to be part of the mask itself, an eye that wasn't visible on the other side of the mask.
Mirror's face was as normal as an Absol's could be, but he kept his eyes clenched tightly shut. His eyelashes were long and stood out the most, whilst a long curl of fur burst out to the side of his face. And then he collapsed onto his side as if he had no energy.
"Mirror!" Rune rushed over to him. He shook the Absol and held up his head, trying to feel for a pulse. His heart was fine. "Hey, hang in there! Get up, what's wrong?"
It took a moment, but eventually Mirror's eyes twitched and he moved to stand up, but his eyes never opened. He made a few sounds that were the total opposite of his usual stern, dark voice, and turned his head to look around in confusion.
"Wait, what? I'm… awake? Why am I- oh gods, is anyone there?" he cried. He sounded like a little girl, lost and frantically huffing to try and calm themselves. "Hello? Please, someone, anyone, who's around?"
"Open your eyes. What's wrong with you?" Rune said, and folded his arms.
"Th-there is someone there! Please, you've got to help me. I'm begging you, there's no time to lose," he cried. He tried to sprint and tripped up, falling face flat.
"Is he blind?" Ariala asked slowly, a finger on her lip.
"I-I think so. Hey, calm down a sec," Diantha cried and helped him up. He kept whimpering and flinched at her touch, but knew where to turn to face her.
"You're somebody! Please, my mask should be nearby. You've got to pick it up and give it to me! Please, or terrible things are going to happen, I mean it!" Mirror cried.
Diantha giggled at him and stroked his side. "Sorry, but I can't do that. And you know exactly why."
"Sis?" Rune said. His heart jumped when she raised an arm and channelled a huge orb of dark energy in it, making everyone flip out. They had only a second to act before she slammed that hand down to release the energy. It came out in an enormous shockwave that took everyone off their feet. Fortunately Ariala reacted with a Light Screen, but had barely gotten the shield up to reduce the damage properly.
"Now, drain him, Master Lin!" Diantha called out.
"Diantha!" Rune shouted.
Lin, Tapu Lele, and the shadow partition had emerged from the broken roof, as if they had been hidden behind the temple the whole time. Lin didn't waste time in performing his magic spell to drain the dark energy from Mirror, causing the Absol to scream in pain.
"No!" Ariala cried and stuck a hand out.
Leos couldn't manage anything more than a sharp breath in, and stared with watering eyes as the last of the shadow partition formed in the air, slowly merging with the rest of its monstrous form. He wasn't speechless in awe, fear, or even worry, but that they had been so easily duped.
He had too much to think about. His Mother and Father's story, the death of the Tapu, and his own friends and position in the new world they were heading towards – he truly never thought to question the sudden resurrection of Diantha and what it could mean, to be wary of what Marshadow could accomplish while its form was as close to completion as it was. And now, thanks to his haste, inability to act or think clearly, it was complete. The god he so badly didn't want to deal with.
Marshadow's form stabilised whilst this revelation came to light. The jellyfish-like monster shrunk greatly in size and stature, becoming just a little taller than he was. Two glowing yellow eyes surrounded by outlines of dark red poked through the head of the Pokémon, while a cleaner, more shadow-like texture took over the Pokémon's humanesque body. A fluffy, shadowy collar flowed around its neck, a shadowy helmet with three horns flowed around its head, and its feet had flowing, shadowy trails coming from them.
It admired its final appearance and the audience it had to witness it, curling its small hands into fists repeatedly. It jabbed the air a few times and then stretched, curling its body to get a good look at itself. Finally content, its small mouth turned into a smile, and its eyes met Leos'.
"Ah. It's good to be back," he said, sounding familiarly childish.